What are you Hungry for?

Devotional

Day 1: Intentionally Emptying Ourselves to Be Filled by God

We often fill our lives with distractions, comforts, and noise, leaving no room for what truly matters. Just as filling up on appetizers leaves no space for the main course, a life consumed by temporal things has no capacity for the eternal. Fasting is the intentional act of creating that necessary space. It is a symbolic and practical declaration that we are making room for God to move. This spiritual discipline reorients our hunger toward the things of His kingdom. [51:58]

“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.” (Matthew 5:6, ESV)

Reflection: What is one thing—a habit, a distraction, or a comfort—that currently fills your schedule or mind, leaving little room for prayer, Scripture, or simply listening for God’s voice?

Day 2: Aligning Our Desires with God’s Kingdom Priorities

Our natural appetites are for things that provide immediate but temporary satisfaction. The call of Jesus is to reorder these desires, to cultivate a hunger for the eternal rather than the temporal. This is not about manipulating God but about positioning ourselves to receive what He already wants to give. When we seek His kingdom first, our perspective shifts and our priorities are transformed. We begin to value what He values. [01:04:29]

“But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” (Matthew 6:33, ESV)

Reflection: When you consider your daily pursuits and worries, what does your current focus reveal about what you are truly hungry for?

Day 3: The Secret Reward of a Heart Focused on God

Human applause and recognition are fleeting rewards that can never satisfy the soul. Jesus instructs us to practice our faith not for public spectacle but for an audience of One. When we fast, pray, or give in secret, we are investing in a heavenly treasure that cannot be destroyed or stolen. This requires a heart check, ensuring our actions are fueled by a genuine love for God, not a desire for the approval of people. [57:58]

“But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, that your fasting may not be seen by others but by your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.” (Matthew 6:17-18, ESV)

Reflection: Is there an area of your spiritual life where you find yourself subtly performing for others rather than authentically connecting with God?

Day 4: Creating Space for Repentance, Breakthrough, and Outpouring

Fasting is a tool God uses to bring deep transformation. It creates the space needed for genuine repentance, allowing the Holy Spirit to reveal areas that need His healing touch. It is also a pathway to breakthrough, where strongholds are broken and God’s power is made manifest in new ways. Ultimately, it prepares us for a fresh outpouring of His Spirit, aligning our hearts with His will for our lives, our church, and our land. [01:09:33]

“If my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.” (2 Chronicles 7:14, ESV)

Reflection: For what specific need—whether personal, in your family, or in our nation—is God inviting you to create space through prayer and fasting to see His healing and breakthrough?

Day 5: Living Now as Citizens of Heaven

The teachings of Jesus are a blueprint for kingdom living. They call us to live on earth as if we are already in heaven, embodying the values and priorities of God’s eternal reign. This upside-down kingdom prioritizes humility over pride, service over power, and eternal treasure over temporary gain. Fasting is a practical declaration of this citizenship, a choice to live by a different set of rules and to hunger for a different kind of fulfillment. [54:43]

“Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” (Matthew 6:10, ESV)

Reflection: What is one practical way you can reorient a routine or habit this week to better reflect the reality of God’s kingdom in your daily life?

Sermon Summary

Generations Church issues a clear call to make space for God by intentionally clearing out the distractions that fill daily life. Drawing on Matthew 6, the text insists that fasting belongs among normal kingdom practices alongside secretive giving and sincere prayer. Fasting functions as a spiritual emptiness—an act of setting aside food, comfort, or habitual habits so that God can refill priorities, reshape desires, and reposition treasure toward heaven. The contrast with performative religion appears repeatedly: public displays for applause turn holy disciplines into vanity and rob souls of lasting reward.

Practical illustrations show how everyday appetites—chips before a meal, scrolling through a phone, constant entertainment—crowd out hunger for righteousness. Fasting reorders the heart by signaling that God outranks sustenance, comfort, and social approval. This discipline opens space for repentance, creates room for breakthrough against entrenched strongholds, and cultivates an outpouring of God’s presence that can heal families, communities, and nations. Biblical examples and Jesus’s teaching point to fasting not as a means to manipulate God but as a way to align the human will with the kingdom’s purposes.

Concrete guidance accompanies the theological core: different kinds of fasts fit different bodies and situations; medical concerns allow modified approaches; replacement of meal-time with Scripture and prayer prevents mere dieting; non-food fasts—social media, music, or other habits—create meaningful space. Regular rhythms of humility and focused prayer reshape desires so that hunger for God becomes sustainable rather than performative. The content issues a corporate challenge: imagine a church and a city that deliberately make room for God and seek his kingdom first, asking for his will to be done on earth as in heaven.

Key Takeaways

1. Fast to make room for God Fasting intentionally empties daily schedules and appetites so God can refill affections and priorities. When food, comfort, or distraction yields to deliberate hunger for God, attention shifts from temporary satisfaction to eternal treasure. This practice trains the heart to prefer God’s presence over immediate relief and forms a posture of dependence that prepares for deeper spiritual work. [51:58]
2. Avoid performative religiosity Public performance steals the soul’s reward by turning holy acts into applause-seeking theater. True spiritual disciplines aim at an audience of One; when motives orbit human admiration, spiritual practices harden into vanity that cannot sustain transformation. Repentance begins where honesty replaces image, allowing genuine spiritual growth. [55:37]
3. Treasure reveals the heart What a person stores up exposes where the heart resides; earthly applause and goods cannot hold eternal worth. Reordering treasure toward God reorients choices, time, and energy so that pursuit of the kingdom changes daily behavior and priorities. Hunger for righteousness creates capacity for God to fill. [59:42]
4. Fasting creates breakthrough and healing Certain breakthroughs require a created longing that only fasting and focused prayer produce. Repentance through fasting opens doors for deliverance, corporate restoration, and spiritual outpouring that normal routines may not access. Persistent humility before God invites him to answer and to heal land, home, and heart. [67:52]
5. Replace habits with devotion Removing a habit only matters if the vacant space fills with Scripture and prayer; otherwise fasting becomes mere diet or avoidance. Deliberately replacing scrolling, media, or convenience with moments of Bible reading, silence, and petition cultivates sustained hunger for God. This form of discipline renews the mind and fosters transformation into kingdom likeness. [73:59]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[34:03] - Missions and Faith Promise
[39:47] - Missionary Testimonies
[40:16] - Budget and Giving Update
[43:45] - Easter Events and Announcements
[46:34] - Opening Prayer and Aim
[47:10] - Illustration: Chips Before Dinner
[50:34] - Distractions and Spiritual Fullness
[51:36] - Matthew 6: Fasting Introduced
[55:37] - Hypocrisy Versus Hidden Devotion
[58:50] - Treasures and the Heart
[61:02] - What Fasting Really Does
[67:09] - Fasting for Repentance & Breakthrough
[71:44] - Practical Fasting Tips
[76:34] - Call to Make Space for God
[84:14] - Altar Time and Prayer
[87:10] - Closing Prayer and Blessing

Bible Study Guide

Bible reading
Matthew 6:16–18 (ESV)
“And when you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces that their fasting may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, that your fasting may not be seen by others but by your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.”

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Observation questions

What three spiritual practices does Jesus address in Matthew 6, and what common warning does He give about each one?
According to Jesus, what is the difference between how hypocrites fast and how His followers should fast?
What does Jesus say will happen if our spiritual practices are done for the applause of others?
What everyday examples were given of filling our lives with temporary things that leave no room for God? [49:07]

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Interpretation questions

Why does Jesus emphasize that fasting should be done “in secret” rather than for public recognition? What does this reveal about God’s values compared to human values?
Jesus says, “Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” How does fasting help reorient what we treasure? [59:42]
The sermon mentioned that “certain breakthroughs require a created longing that only fasting and focused prayer produce.” Why might God design some spiritual victories to depend on practices like fasting? [01:07:52]
How does replacing a fasted habit with Scripture and prayer prevent fasting from becoming just a diet or empty ritual? [01:13:59]

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Application questions

What is one appetite or habit in your life—like snacking, scrolling, or comfort-seeking—that often crowds out hunger for God? What would it look like to intentionally create space this week by limiting that thing? [50:06]
How can you ensure that your times of fasting or self-denial remain focused on God rather than drifting into performance or pride? What practical step can you take to keep your motive centered on Him?
Is there a situation in your life, family, or community where you sense God calling you to seek breakthrough through focused prayer and fasting? What would it look like to respond to that nudge? [01:09:33]
What’s one non-food item—like social media, music, or entertainment—that you could fast from to make room for prayer and Scripture? How will you fill that newfound space with seeking God? [01:14:29]
How can we, as a group, support one another in cultivating a sustainable hunger for God rather than falling into performative spirituality?
What would it look like for our church to truly live out “Your kingdom come, Your will be done” in our city? How can we individually and together make more space for God to move? [01:16:34]
When you feel a physical hunger or craving during a fast, what simple prayer can you use to turn that moment into connection with God? [01:12:07]

Sermon Clips

My instead, my treasure is god and his kingdom. I'm not looking to things that are temporary. I'm not looking to those things. Instead, I'm looking for what god wants to do. If you guys remember back in Matthew chapter five, Jesus said, blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness for they will be filled. In other words, they have space available in their lives and now god wants to come and fill them up. The hungry can be filled but you can't be filled if you're already full. If you're content, satisfied, or distracted, you're not gonna seek after god with the passion that he is worthy of. [01:02:36] (38 seconds) #HungerForRighteousness

So what fasting is, and I'll I'll just take a minute to explain this right now, is fasting is intentionally limiting yourself. It's intentionally setting aside a period of time in your life and you're you're limiting yourself from food. You're saying, okay, I'm not going to eat. There are lots of different types of fasting in the Bible. I don't have time to go into all of those right now but but essentially, you're just saying, I'm not going to eat for one or two or three or four four meals and instead, I'm going to replace that eating time with something else. [01:01:13] (33 seconds) #IntentionalFasting

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What are you Hungry for?

Devotional

Day 1: Intentionally Emptying Ourselves to Be Filled by God

Day 2: Aligning Our Desires with God’s Kingdom Priorities

Day 3: The Secret Reward of a Heart Focused on God

Day 4: Creating Space for Repentance, Breakthrough, and Outpouring

Day 5: Living Now as Citizens of Heaven

Sermon Summary

Key Takeaways

Youtube Chapters

Bible Study Guide

Sermon Clips

Chatbot

What are you Hungry for?

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